The present invention generally relates to inflation devices which are configured to deliver fluid to a medical balloon catheter, working fluid under pressure and to monitor that pressure during therapeutic procedures such as balloon sinuplasty, a procedure to expand and permanently dilate sinus passages within a mammalian body.
Inflation devices such as the devices shown in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,838,864 and 6,796,959, may be used in such procedures; however, the robust locking mechanism used to engage a plunger for high pressure development on these type of inflators, while intuitive to hospital catheter laboratory personnel familiar with such devices, have proven to be challenging to some medical personnel unfamiliar with hospital catheter lab procedures. These inflation devices are configured such that they are typically provided with one of two types of plunger engagement: either plunger initially engaged thus requiring active disengagement by the user, or plunger initially disengaged requiring active engagement by the user. Further, pressurization is subsequently accomplished via the user having to rotate the plunger in order to advance its screw type mechanism forward, thereby delivering fluid and building pressure.
Medical providers in hospital catheter laboratory settings are generally highly trained with regard to how to use such complicated inflation devices. However, some medical procedures, such as balloon sinuplasty, are not always conducted in a hospital catheter laboratory setting. Instead, such procedures are often performed at less costly environments, such as the office of an ENT doctor where both doctors and their assisting nurses have not necessarily had the extensive training and experience of catheter laboratory technicians.
A simpler operating inflation device that is more intuitive and requires less training is therefore more desirable for such applications. Standard syringes are a common every day item within all medical care settings, and medical staffs universally understand their operation without additional training.